Imports of French poultry halted by several countries
By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com
The confirmation of the H5N1 strain of the avian flu virus has forced farmers in France to temporarily stop their poultry production practices.
As of Jan. 18, farms in the southwest region of Dordogne – which is well known for its foie gras (fattened duck or goose liver) - were told by the country’s agriculture ministry and Agriculture Minister Stephane Le Foll not to hatch any new chicks or destroy any birds currently being raised as large-scale sanitation operation was scheduled to begin.
The ministry said its plan will allow healthy ducklings to be re-established in sanitized farms.
The virus was initially discovered in November 2015 and is the first outbreak in nearly a decade in France – the European Union’s largest agricultural producer.
Since confirmation of the disease, it has been detected on 69 farms in southwest France.
As a result, several countries including Morocco, South Korea, China, Thailand, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong and Japan, the world’s largest foie gras importer, have suspended French poultry imports.
France produces approximately 75 per cent of the world’s foie gras and an extended disruption in production and exports could have an economic impact ranging between €250-300 million, or upwards of $325 million U.S.; the country exported more than 4,900 tonnes of foie gras in 2014.
According to the World Health Organization, the H5N1 virus can spread to people but is difficult to transmit from person to person.
“When people do become infected, the mortality rate is about 60 per cent,” the WHO said.